Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords

The wilderness was deserted, with endless white snow and no sign of habitation for dozens of miles around, a desolate and remote place.

But at this moment, Highcliff Stronghold added a touch of vitality to it.

Inside the Highcliff Stronghold's main hall, a long table of ten meters was laid out with exquisite and tempting food, while the remaining space was filled with densely packed chairs, mostly occupied, displaying a variety of races.

All the major figures of Highcliff Stronghold were present, except for Orak, who was in Whiteleaf City.

The Lord chewed and swallowed the roasted lamb leg covered in spices and chili in two or three bites, the satisfaction of his taste buds and stomach making him exhale comfortably.

Although the food in Whiteleaf City was expensive, refined, and delicious, it was far less to his taste than what the rabbitfolk chefs he had trained in Highcliff Stronghold made.

The entire Deber region's cuisine leaned towards the sweet side; no matter what dish was made, a bit of syrup was added, often making it cloying after a few bites.

Only in Highcliff Stronghold could one find spicier food.

"Lord, may I ask if something significant has occurred?"

Leighton's keen intuition told him that this trip of the Highcliff Stronghold's Lord to Whiteleaf City must have been for something important.

Looking at the earth goblin wearing a wolf-skin hat in front of him, Levi nodded: "You joined Highcliff Stronghold recently and are not aware of this matter; this is a good opportunity to explain it all at once."

"In a few months, we will launch an attack on Deber's Southern Territory."

Because it was still early for the southward journey, coupled with a series of events that followed, he had not actively brought it up, resulting in only the initial group of Highcliff Stronghold's veterans being aware of it, with most people only knowing bits and pieces without understanding the specifics.

"What?!" The dragon's hearing was far superior to that of humans; Sofia, who was sitting in the corner frantically gnawing on meat, raised her head in astonishment, not even noticing the meat falling from her mouth onto the table.

"Another war?"

Glancing at her, Levi explained the whole story from beginning to end, how he had brought a Duke's heir from the Southern Territory to the Northern Territory, what role he played in it, and why this battle must be fought.

The Lord's voice was clear and loud, ensuring that everyone present could clearly understand the meaning, but the shock within was like a dragon's breath exploding on the spot, causing a huge uproar.

Sofia, with her mouth wide open and unable to close it, was so stunned that her head was dizzy, and she couldn't find her bearings.

Although she was a bit slow, she wasn't stupid.

Perhaps she had luckily avoided the previous war, but just thinking about what was to come made her realize that it was absolutely impossible to avoid it this time.

Facing a large-scale battle.

No one would let a dragon remain idle without utilizing it; she only felt that the delicious food in front of her, which usually made her drool, tasted like wax, devoid of flavor.

Levi simply slammed the table and stood up: "Are you afraid?"

"Afraid!" The response from below was very uniform, and after a moment, there was a burst of laughter:

"Afraid they're not enough for us to beat!"

"I'm afraid," Sofia raised her small hand and said weakly.

Among a group of burly men with a murderous nature, she was like a weak little lamb.

The Lord automatically ignored her, placed his hands on the table, and looked directly at these unruly people: "The enemy is a legitimate Duchy of a country, and Deber only has four Dukes in total, with at least hundreds of thousands of soldiers, while we have only a thousand people at most!"

"If the enemy is a lion, then we are a hamster about to be fed to the lion!"

"No, we are not even as good as a hamster!"

"Lenier never asks how many enemies there are, only where they are!" The centaur Gus said in a muffled, thunderous voice.

Due to the centaur's body structure, it didn't have a chair and was only kneeling on the ground, but even so, its burly figure almost reached the ceiling.

Gus was the one he brought back from the wilderness with his entire tribe when he returned from Whiteleaf City, and eventually those centaur women and children were settled under the hills.

The Lord felt that the number of burly men in Highcliff Stronghold would only increase in the future, and it seemed that building an enlarged version of the hall was something that should be put on the agenda.

"Lord, we are your followers, the blade in your hand." Hogg was slowly cutting the roasted beef with a knife and fork; he raised his head and revealed his sharp fangs: "You say to hit whoever we hit, even a lion will have a leg bitten off by us."

He had a good relationship with Meer and was eager to learn, so he had learned a lot about human knowledge.

However, what troubled him was the common language; he still hadn't learned much even now.

Compared to that earth goblin who had already learned the language, he was stupid like a goblin.

"Hiccup~" Zart gulped down a large glass of malt wine, hiccuped, and hooked his green hand around Hogg's shoulder, taking the opportunity to wipe the oil on his clothes:

"Anyway... I think Hogg is right!"

The statements of several leaders brought cheers from everyone, and the three-headed dog, who was lying at the Lord's feet like an ordinary pug, also barked, while Buji, the little thing, waved his small fists aggressively in the air, but it looked weak and feeble, instead having a bit of cuteness.

"Damn, I'm so touched by you guys right now!" Levi felt goosebumps all over his body, and in his emotion, a sense of ambition also rose in his heart.

If the armies of the world were ranked in order of militancy, thanks to the system's blessing, Highcliff Stronghold could definitely be ranked in the T1 category, but that didn't mean they were emotionless killing machines; they still had the emotions that normal people should have.

They wouldn't do the stupid thing of an egg hitting a rock, but facing the Southern Territory, it was more than just an egg hitting a rock, it was simply a weak mantis trying to resist an adult dragon.

But they still resolutely followed him, which was very commendable.

"How much of our material reserves do we have left?" Levi snapped his fingers, preparing to officially prepare for war.

"Miss Tina has just replenished once from Whiteleaf City, enough to support our warriors for half a year." Leighton said without hesitation, without any pause.

He calculated these things every day, and the data was already memorized by heart.

Previously, Levi thought that this earth goblin was just an addition when Gus joined Highcliff Stronghold, but its subsequent performance amazed him.

This earth goblin was simply unbelievably smart... no, it was unlike a goblin, learning things at an astonishing speed, and had unique insights when facing some problems.

This made Levi realize that he had found a treasure!

He then unhesitatingly appointed it as the Highcliff Stronghold's military commander, in charge of all logistical matters and army command in his absence.

Its talent should not be buried.

"This time I went to Corin and brought you the works of the famous military strategist Dex, come find me later, and I'll give it to you."

This world is strange; like those knight novels, not only are they not banned, but they are also heavily promoted, while military books or those involving politics are only circulated among the aristocratic class, and ordinary people basically cannot touch them.

Especially military books, which are almost treated as heirlooms in the hands of those military nobles.

Levi still asked Fojero to get it, but he only lent it to him to read, and he still had to return it afterward.

He had already read most of it in the previous few days, and this time he would give it to Leighton so that the earth goblin could systematically learn military knowledge.

At that time, he could also let it explain it well to the group of illiterates in Highcliff Stronghold.

"Blacksmith, can you guarantee that everyone will be armored before the war starts?" Levi looked at Meer.

Don't look at Highcliff Stronghold owning an iron mine, the speed of making weapons is very fast, but when it comes to more complex armor and highly destructive ballistae, the output is ridiculously low.

Although he sells ironware, armor is absolutely not sold, it is all for self-use; the importance of this thing is comparable to nuclear bombs in the previous life, and it is a complete and strict forbidden item.

"No problem, but everyone's armor has to be custom-made; if you have time later, you can go to the blacksmith shop to measure your body size."

Meer was wearing a delicate leather armor with a long sword hanging on his waist; upon closer inspection, you would find that his outfit was about 80% similar to the Lord's, looking quite knightly.

The body sizes of the Highcliff Stronghold's warriors were basically the same, and you only needed to select the average body size from them for mass production, but those present were all strong men whose bodies far exceeded their clansmen and had to be measured separately.

"Okay, you all go over there later; the ballistae cannot be left behind; while ensuring that the armor indicators are completed first, you should try to build as many as you can during this time."

Next, it would not be continuing to fight small fries in the field; they would not only face more elite human legions but also encounter sieges and the enemy's heavy weapon suppression.

So the importance of the ballistae was self-evident.

As for catapults, these things are basically made on-site, but the three detachable catapults seized last time can be carried to the battlefield.

Again, the brother-in-law and boss's words, Meer was shoveling food into his mouth, preparing to go back to work overtime after eating.

However, that pig-headed man named Tickly, was unparalleled in blacksmithing; one person could be worth several trolls.

Heather looked at Levi with her cheeks propped up, her watery eyes reflecting the other party's figure, as if shining.

For a group, having an absolute core is a great fortune; even if they are sitting there doing nothing, they can naturally attract everyone to revolve around them.

This human Lord was obviously like this, which meant that the other party's prestige had reached an unimaginable level.

This was something Heather had never seen among the dark elves.

That group of dark elves verbally said they were loyal to the Matron Mother, but they were all egoists, full of various calculations.

She had seen various beautiful things on the surface in books since she was a child, and she was unwilling to continue to sink into the dark underground, so when she saw an opportunity to escape the dark elves, she unhesitatingly chose to join Highcliff Stronghold.

Facts have proved that her choice was not wrong.

It was just that this human Lord was too ruthless; thinking of this, she couldn't help but look resentful.

"So everyone, our stage will begin from now on, and history will definitely leave a heavy mark about us!"

"Let us move forward towards a better future!"

Levi said sonorously with his arms outstretched.

"Forward!!!"

An extremely uniform roar came from the hall.

"Eat."

At an order, everyone began to bury their heads in eating again, with only the sound of knives and forks colliding and food being chewed.

After it was over, Levi stopped the silver dragon girl who was preparing to sneak away.

"Levi, what's wrong?" She didn't dare to look at the Lord, her eyes flickering.

"What do you think about this war?" Levi asked directly.

"I think it's good for everyone to get along peacefully and make money, isn't it? Why must we fight and kill?"

Sofia was also a carefree person and directly said what she thought in her heart.

She counted her fingers: "I've earned eleven gold coins during this time, and if I continue like this, it won't be long before I can earn enough money to buy a dragon lair on Dragon Island."

"So why must we fight?"

She raised her head, blinking her beautiful eyes as deep as the stars, attempting to influence someone with an iron heart.

In the eyes of a dragon, who is a long-lived species, decades are nothing at all, so earning ten gold coins in two months was already very gratifying to her.

Especially now that she has signed a contract of indentured servitude.

Levi silently decided in his heart to discuss with Tina when he went back to continue to reduce the wages of this little girl's labor; about five gold coins a month, which is sixty a year, and six hundred in ten years.

I'm afraid that in less than fifty years, she will earn enough gold coins.

"Sofia, sometimes war is not something you can decide; if we don't fight this war, then sooner or later they will take the initiative to declare war on us."

"At that time, the entire Highcliff Stronghold will die in the war."

"We are just saving ourselves."

Levi said with compassion, attempting to influence this cowardly dragon in front of him.

The southward war is like a gamble, and both sides will put all their chips on it.

And at this time, a dragon is definitely a chip that cannot be ignored.

Perhaps, at a critical moment, it will sway the victory or defeat of a small battle.

In any case, he had to trick this silver dragon into going south with him.

"Then there's no need for me to participate..." Sofia said weakly, attempting to struggle, but unfortunately, before she could finish, she was interrupted by someone with a blank expression.

"Sofia, I'll be blunt, you have to go south with me in this war."

Without waiting for her to reply, Levi continued: "During this time, you've been eating, drinking, and living in Highcliff Stronghold, all of which I've been paying for, and none of it is free."

"It can be said that the things you've eaten are enough for you to sign a contract to work for me for another twenty years."

"Tell me, how are you going to repay it?"

"Ah? I thought these were all free."

Sofia jumped up in shock, her face full of disbelief.

It was because she subconsciously thought these were free that she had been eating and drinking freely during this time.

"May I ask, when you eat at someone else's house, don't you have to pay?" The Lord looked at the overly silly girl with his arms crossed and a sneer.

These words may not scare any of Whiteleaf, Tina, Lia, or Frina, but they are definitely enough to deal with this silver dragon girl.